Remove the benches that prevent teenagers in La Sallaz from skateboarding

1. Background:

I live at Place de La Sallaz, and recently the city installed benches to prevent teenagers from skateboarding.

I’ve spoken with many neighbors, and we feel that the neighborhood has become a bit more gloomy since then. The skateboarders weren’t causing any trouble. 

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2. Proposal:

The proposal is very simple: the benches serve no purpose and no one uses them:

It would be better to install a railing to protect the concrete corners, as the city hall did in Ouchy:

As a result, teenagers could continue to skateboard without damaging the concrete corners.

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3. Motivation:

This proposal is close to my heart because cities around the world lack spaces that foster social cohesion.

It’s important to get teenagers back to their play areas because skateboarding is a sport that isn’t practiced on a field but on the street.

The teenagers weren’t causing any trouble; there was no drug dealing or vandalism linked to the skateboarders. Most of the time, they were filming their adventures on the four streets.

The primary beneficiaries will be teenagers, but also the La Sallaz neighborhood. I would even go so far as to say that we could take it a step further and install one of those bars that the city installed in Ouchy:

Near La Kabane, the play container at Place de La Sallaz.

La Kabanne is often surrounded by people who drink excessively, and bringing more children and teenagers there will improve safety in the common areas of La Sallaz.